


Checked In, Checked Out

by PaperGhostie



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, If any of this hits home please seek help, M/M, Other, Reader has a bad past that has harmed her, References to abuse in multiple forms are referenced, References to the side-effects of said abuse it referenced, Story will often be written from the perspective of a person who is not stable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-07-24 13:32:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16176095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperGhostie/pseuds/PaperGhostie
Summary: You and a new guest enjoy each other's company as you help him check in.





	1. No Reservation, Full of Reservations

**Author's Note:**

> You and a new guest enjoy each other's company as you help him check in.

You stood up from the desk as you heard the light tapping form the outer door being opened, causing your office door to softly shift. You were already at the desk before you tried to grab a glance at the incoming customer through the laggy camera screen. You were not prepared for the monster coming in to rent a room. Not only was he monstrous in species, but he stood tall and broad despite his slumped and hunched posture. His skull barely brushed past the door frame as he ducked into the small ‘lobby’. He nervously snickered as he glanced down at you, blushing and looking up at him.

His soft snicker caused you to blush darker and stumble over your greeting to the stranger. “I-ah… hiya! Do-do you have a rez-reservation?” You were already rapidly tapping on the tablet provided to navigate through the program. His warmer chuckle brought your attention back up to his face. You tilted your head to ask for clarification.  
  
“no, i don’t. i saw you had vacancies online, though. so, i figured, ‘why not fill one?’, ya know?” he responded as he started to dig around on his pockets. You were amazed at how absolutely calm his deep voice could be as he was cracking some jokes. This was the kind of guest you loved having: patient, humored, and understanding of your quirks. He fished out a wallet that was much past its prime, covered in duct tape (perhaps mostly made **of** duct tape).

You relaxed as you asked, looking at what you had available. “ Smoking or non-?”, you asked in  your chipper ‘customer’ voice. He murmured to indicate he didn’t care. “I have either available… hmm. Do you need a microwave and fridge?” That would help you narrow down where to send him in the hotel. It was pretty vacant, so there were a lot of options.

He glanced up to look into your eye. The blush returned as he asked in a low tone, “not all of ‘em have those?” When you shook your head, he hummed and actually made a decision. “Yes, i’ll be here for a couple ‘a’ days,” he glanced down and thumbed through his cash, obviously thinking.

“Two days right?” you asked in clarification to help you not only properly set him up for the stay but also help you decide where to put the poor guy. You felt like he needed a nice quiet place so he could actually get rest. He looked so tired and weary.

“yeh,” he began to answer. His face showed a change of heart and he asked softly, “wait… um… what’s today? like the day of the week?” You answered that it was Sunday. “three days,” he corrected. He flashed a broader smile and added, “thanks, i would’ve needed ta talk ta ‘nother person come Tuesday ‘bout keepin’ my room.”

“Hey, as long as ya did it before check out time on that day, you’re all good, dude,” you answered in your normal tone as you scanned in his ID. Both you and him paused and looked at each other. You opened your mouth to apologize for the lack of professionalism but he hummed with a knowing grin. “What is it?” you asked in the business tone.

You noted how his eyes flitted back down before keeping eye contact. “i like your real voice, (name),” he frankly answered as he placed his ID down. “name’s Sans, by the way. Sans the---”  he began only to stop at “the” was uttered.  
  
“Resident of room 226,” you provided in your normal tone. You rose a brow when you heard a rattle from within his clothing. “i’m sorry. We only have upstairs available.,” you commented, showing actual sympathy. “you could ask for a room downstairs in the morning?”

“nah, that’s not it; no worries,” he snickered. He accepted his ID from you with a wink and a smile. You felt that blush come back with vengeance and hated how this guy figured out how to make you flustered so quickly. You had only known each other for a few minutes!

You cleared your throat and nodded. “What’s your phone number?” you asked, flippantly.

“i-what?” he choked on his words. You didn’t know he could look so cute. Nor did you realize how his blush could be so blue.

“We need your phone number in case of emergencies?” you offered with a light giggle at your newest guest’s reaction. “I also will need your e-mail address. Just a head’s up,” you added playfully. His laugh lightened your sense of mutual embarrassment.

Between giggle fits, he answered with a wheezing tone, “thanks for the heads up, kiddo. i might’ve jumped outta my skin if i didn’t get that. ya don’t want me skull-king around like that.”  You snickered at the puns.

After filling out that information, you asked, “How many are staying toni-- err, these three days?”

“jus’ me.”

“We don’t charge for them, but are there any minors or non-sentient being swho will be staying with you?”

“you mean pets, right?”

You shrugged and explained, “Eh. After the Underground opened, the corporate side finally listened to us and took our suggestion on accepting species like moldsmals and other non-sentients as the same rank as our ‘pets’; not charging for them seemed fair.” You added with a grin, “So, that’s a no?”

His grin was crooked as he watched you. When you finally asked him the question, he answered with a warmth in his tone, “yeh, that’s right.”

“Okie dokie. How are we paying tonight? Cash, card, or chip?” you asked.

“ah, cash…” he answered and looked at his stash once again. You subtly added a discount to try and help him. He did seem like he needed some wiggle room with everything. After you told him the ‘correct’ price, he offered an appropriate amount of bills to cover the cost.

You gave him the change, showed him where to sign, and offered to print a receipt. You go through your information quickly, in the customer tone, “Okay! Coffee is served below the television from 6 A.M. to 11 A.M. (I would personally get coffee somewhere else.) Check out is at noon.  
“Since you are staying with us several days, our housekeepers will come to clean every other day, so for you that’s Monday. Please, do not leave anything on the bed. If there is anything on the bed, they cannot clean the room. Yes, really,” you answered before being asked as you grabbed the slip all extended stays were given.  
“Pool is close for the winter. The ice machine and vending machines are next to the office in the small hall between the pool and this office/lobby. They are the only ones in the facility. If you need change, feel free to come to the office to get it with us. There is someone here, pretty much 24/7,” you explained as you grabbed the finally printed receipt. The printer was too slow for your taste.  
“Um… Oh! There’s a list that deliver to your door; just tell them your room number.” You offered the receipt, the details for extended stays, list of delivery places, and his card key in its sleeve. “Nice and confused?” you asked with your regular tone and a grin. 

He chuckled and nodded. He accepted the stuff from you and he smiled.

“Feel free to dial zero on the room phone. Like I said, there’s someone here almost always,” you clarified.

“cool. probably **won’t** call.”

You laughed, knowing the feeling. “Trust me, Sans. All of us at the desk are nice. Well, I’m the weird one, to be honest,” you admitted with a smile.

“you’re nice,” he corrected you.

You nodded and offered, “See? They’re even nicer.” You pulled up the map of the hotel and showed him where his room was. “Just up the stairs, down the hall, last room on the right. If you have any issue with the door try lifting the handle up and pushing the door in.” He nodded and headed out of the office, offering you a final smile and a wink. Who was this Sans guy?


	2. Food?

The chittering ring of a room calling the front desk brought your attention back to your environment. The overnight shifts tended  to be slow and boring during the winter months, so your distractions helped pass the time between incidents of actual work to do, such as this. Room #226 was calling? Odd, you had thought that he wouldn’t be one to actually call since he seemed so shy.

You answered with your customer voice at first, “Thank you for calling-- wait…” You remembered he preferred your normal voice. “Hey! Lemme guess, you’re wondering if we have any shampoo…” you offered in a humored tone, hoping that he didn’t take the joke as an insult.

He laughed, truly laughed at your comment. After a moment, he recovered, “thank you,” he groaned. “i got… thank you… i was hopin’ it was still  **you** , (name)… i-- ah-- weird question. are you hungry?’ like, i need to eat, but… like i don’t wanna get fifty bucks of food jus’ ‘cause i’m too lazy to go and pick it up.” He suddenly stopped his throat. You were just pleased that he remembered your name in the first place. Most of the time people just yelled for front desk getting them everything under the sun.

“Yeah, lemme know where you are gonna order and I’ll tell you what I want from there,” you answered, finally getting what he was trying to ask. To be honest, you were tired of eating the same leftover you had been eating for the past two days. Something fresh would be a good change of pace. “I’m gonna have to ask you to tell them to deliver it to the front desk, though?”

There was a pregnant pause for a second between you both. Before he finally asked, his voice surprisingly tight, “Why?”

“I can’t exactly go and hang out with you for my food  when I have to be at the desk,” you explained with a light chuckle. “I want to, sure, but I need to make sure I’m actually here  **acting** like I am doing my job.” You smiled as you heard him chuckle again.

“oh… oh, yeah,” he nervously chuckled. “i was making a choice between the taco place or the pizza place.” Both did sound really good, admittedly. “what do you think?” he asked softly.

“Both sound great, honestly,” you answered. “But, I feel like the taco place would be easier to split up. We could easily mix and match if need be.” You stopped and asked, “Are you okay with that?” He hummed in agreement, yet said nothing at first. You waited until he finally answered, he had mistaken the question as a rhetorical question.

“oh… i mean, you can just lemme know when it shows up, right? i just know i will need to eat,” he casually half-grumbled and chuckled. “so… um… tacos?” he offered in a meek and earnest tone. You hummed to assure him that you agreed. He sighed with obvious relief in a manner that deeply resonated within your soul.  _ Same, skele-bruh. _

You smiled and commented, “You’ll have to be ordering from El Rey del Taco, since they’re the only one open this late…” You were trying to keep the conversation casual and easy flowing since the poor guy was floundering. When he hummed in agreement, you continued, “You can order me the #27, no jalapeño,  and a tea for the drink.” You heard him writing it down, after a moment of waiting, “What are you thinking of getting?” you asked with a smile obvious in your tone.

He scoffed and with a chuckle, “i dunno, honestly. i mean, i’m not hungry but…”

“Ya gotta eat,” you finished for him.

“exactly,” he groaned. “i just… should i order the same thing?” he asked but softly added, “you think i could ask for ketchup?”

You paused at that one, stunned at the odd query. “... no, I don’t think so, dude. I think we have some in the break room, though?” You heard a chuckle from the other end. “Would that work?”

“yeah, that’ll work,” he answered between giggles. “lemme know when it shows up, okay? we’ll split it.” You hummed in agreement with enthusiasm. “stars, i’m happy i called you. i hate having to spend so much on food when i just need enough ta  **sustain** myself, ya know?” He snickered and announced again, “talk to ya later, kiddo.” You heard him call out, “wait!” as you hung up, causing you to laugh.


	3. Hang Out

When he answered the phone, he stumbled over his words for a hot minute. “i-- uh-- sorry. i’m sorry. is- is there something wrong?” You could barely hold back the giggle from his reaction. It was admittedly amusing (and endearing). “wait… (name)?” His voice was husky and drowsy.

“The one and only,” you assured him. “Did I wake you?” you asked, barely calming yourself down from how that sleepy tone affected you. There was multiple responses, honestly. None of them were particularly professional. His sluggish hum only flared the emotions up. “Well, come on down; food’s here,” you encouraged him. “Don’t worry about paying. I took care of it.”

“wait… you already  paid for it?” he asked and huffed. “what did we say?”

“We would pay for it,” you answered. “You could just say thank you, come down, and eat,” you suggested with a grin. He couldn’t speak properly. You couldn’t hold back your laugh and encouraged him with a warm tone, “Come on down.” Your tone turned rough and dark as you added, “I have your food…” 

You heard a choking sound on the other end. There were no actual words, but something was bothering him a lot. You grew worried as he didn’t actually  **say** anything even as you called out to him. The phone line went dead.

You panicked and began gathering your cell, the master keys, and a heavy flashlight, then ran to the door of your office. You opened the door to… find him with his fist ready to knock. “You’re okay!” you cheered and relaxed. “Come on! You have a meal to eat!”

“why are you yelling everything right now?” he asked, obviously holding back on some laughter. The look on his face showed he was, again, amused by your antics. He moved as he was about to crack another joke, only to stop and ask, “did i scare ya?” His expression shifted from amusement to a hot flash of empathetic embarrassment. “oh. oh, man, (name) i’m so sorry. i didn’t realize that ya didn’t… i’m  fine .” He was going to ramble more when you stopped him with a small,  **totally not** flirty comment…  _ or was it? _

“Well, I could’ve told you that you’re fine; I  **am** able to  see you,” you half-laughed, half-sighed.You tried to distract both of you by offering the Styrofoam carton of his order. You murmured, “They also said you wanted ketchup?” His change of expression to excited and grateful was infectious.You caught yourself also offering a dreamy smile.

“yeh, thanks,” he answered with a dainty grab of the carton, topped with an insane amount of ketchup packets piled on the top. He stood there for a moment. It was evident neither of you knew what else to say or do.

You lamely tried, “Well, bone appetite, Sans.” That feeling returned upon his reaction to the dorky pun. He threw his head back and truly, joyfully laughed. He actually opened his mouth and bent at the waist. A hint of fluttering rustled in your ribs. You nervously snickered before asking, “What? Patellin’ me ya don’t like puns?”

“i don’t,” he hoarsely answered. The carton squeaked.in his tightened grip. But, before you could apologize he practically growled-- no,  **_purred_ ** , “i  love them. they, ah, say i have a knack from ‘em. i say it’s just in my bones.”

You sighed and muttered, “Here I was worried you would disappear on me and go skull-king,” you teased. You liked the sly grin you earned from the skeleton.

“ pretty sure you’re made of copper and tellurium,” he answered. You felt his eyelights scan you to see if you immediately caught on. You tried to get the puns of the elements. He threw you a bone and murmured, “Cu-Te~” he undeniably purred. You were sure this time you were blushing.

“well, you’re sodium, uranium, and thallium!”

“Na-U-Ti… hey~” he laughed. “I resemble that!”    
“No, you resemble something that’s inside me,” you laughed and immediately regretted it. Both of you were stunned. You immediately yelped. “Okay! Have a great night!” his food stopped the door and he lightly chuckled. “What?” you softly asked.

“that one was funny,” he admitted. Cautiously he made eye-contact and asked. “i was expecting science classroom or closet.”

You pouted at first at the reasonable quips instead of a pervy joke. But, you smirked and answered, “You wouldn’t happen to have a reason to be in my closet would you?” You smiled as he barked out a laugh. “I mean, if you wanna hang out, just tell me, bonehead,” you teased.

He answered flippantly, “i do.”

“What?” you asked with something caught in your throat.

“i wanna hang with you, (name),” he softly offered. You were surprised as you opened the door further and motioned for him to come in.


	4. Forbidden Plan(et)

You laughed lightly and shrugged as you pointed to the camera display to your left. He leaned forward and glanced at it. He let out a spine-chilling hum. “You would have to stay out of sight. I mean, I’m at--” you began only for him to quickly respond.  
“ok,”’he flippantly answered and taking a relaxed stance. You laughed lightly and moved aside to let him into the entryway for both the manager’s office and the front desk office. You stopped and motioned for him to move aside. “hmm? what's up?” he asked. He pulled back as you passed by him and walked over to the break room across the hall. He hummed with a knowing smile as you returned with the chair in your hands.  
  
“I can't have you stay without any comforts,” you explained with a light chuckle. “You know, you are eating with me. You should always be kind to your guests and people you are breaking bread with, you know?” you elaborated as you placed the chair down, near a counter. He raised a brow ridge. “This counter is out of view of the cameras here in the front desk.”  
  
“oh,” he answered and placed the container and packets down. He nodded as a quiet sign of gratitude. “fair, i mean, you are being extremely, ah, hospitable.” He chuckled at your reaction at his statement. “what is it?”  
  
“‘Hospitable’ makes me think of planets in a far away galaxies, only obtained in Earthlings’ grasps by taking an impossibly fast trip via an eerily long and thin, chrome spaceship… held up by fishing lines for the camera,” you said, waxing somewhat poetic.  
  
“‘Forbidden Planet’, much?” he teasingly suggested with a impish smirk. His grin stirred up something within your chest. Wait what? For a moment, a very brief moment, you for forgot that you were at work. You paused as you wondered what were you doing.   
  
“(name)?” he softly called, pulling you out of the funk.  
  
“Yeah?” you asked , finally grasping back with the real world. He showed some concern at first, but was quick to replace it with a snicker and hum. “What can I say?” you began with a cheesy smile. “I'm a real space case, right?” Your smile faded some as he purely laughed, parting that Cheshire cat grin. _Oh_.  
  
He sat down, still snickering and comfortably filling the chair. With a finishing sigh, he placed an ankle on a knee, leaning back. “stellar pun, kid,” he warmly murmured. He glanced at you he before popped the top of the container open. Well, not really popped. It was in a slow, drawn out manner, allowing the styrofoam to creak and groan against itself. The entire time the giant brat was grinning at you; he was lightly tormenting you for his own amusement.  
  
You placed the styrofoam cup of tea for him down in front of him with a thud. “What's next?” you asked in an unamused tone. He froze for a second. “Gonna ask for a ceramic plate and real silverware so you can make them screech? Drag your phalanges on a chalkboard? Maybe you can yummy noises and smack while eating?” You had stop because his laughter was contagious.  
  
“now i feel like i’m being called out,” he laughed as he finally opened the blasted case. “are you insinuating that i was being unusually cruel?” he asked in a mock hurt tone. You couldn’t help but to laugh at the display. After all, this was a guy who had proven to be a reliable guy. Nothing about him said that you would have to worry about your safety. Quite the opposite, you felt safer with you behind the desk. It was as if you had protection on your side and not just some dork who happened to not want to spend $20 on some food that he didn’t even have a fridge to store leftovers for… _right_.  
  
“If you keep talking like that I just might **not** let you use the work fridge for your leftovers,” you teased back. He simply shrugged and smiled. “What,” you laughed, “Now you don’t believe I will do it?” You almost felt challenged. Was it that obvious that you liked him?  
  
He shook his head and offered a knowing smirk. “we both know that i don’t have to worry about that,” he stated before taking a sip from the cup. You huffed and raised a brow. “you’re too kind of a person to do that,” he frankly answered. He faced down to look at his food for a moment, only to look up only with his eyelights It seemed as though he could see through you. There was a tingling brush within your chest. “he chuckled lightly and added. hell, i think you’re one of the few good strangers i’ve met topside. tibia honest, it’s _refreshing_.” He ended his statement with another one of those pure smiles and you melted. Just for a second.  
  
“You’re lucky you’re cute,” you stated in a flat tone before gathering your food from the upper level of your work desk and placed it on the actual working surface. It was mostly an excuse to hide your blush from accidentally flirting with him. He really was though. When you finally sat down, you noticed his cheekbones looked dusted with a blue. You tilted your head at the sight only to get him to look away and clear his throat, busing himself with the food. Did I just make him blush, too?  
  
You were both quiet for a while as you had your meals. And, the silence was broken with his meek question. You nearly missed it over the gentle djinn of eating. “ _am i?_ ” he asked, with the blue returning, confirming it as a blush.  
  
“I’m sorry?” you asked, nearly choking on some of the tortilla.  
  
“am i cute?”  
  
“Yeah, of course you are. I obviously have to find you at least somewhat attractive if I’m asking you to share a meal with me…” you admitted frankly as possible. Your tone may have been calm and rational, but your heart was frantic. You felt like it was going to burst if you really had to elaborate further. He finally looked at you and simply gave a knowing smirk. You sighed, already getting used to his antics and having built a rapport with him that was full of humor and candor.  
  
“i happen to think you’re cute too, then.”


	5. I Like You a Latte

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually went through, added a detail and re-did some basic formatting.

“Holy mackrel,” you groaned as you glanced at the your smart watch as an alarm goes off, reminding you to double-check on any leftover chores. “It’s already so late. I can’t believe you’ve been here for so long… up here--ya know in the office, with me, tonight, I mean…” you clarified with a nervous chuckle. Some monsters were still sensitive about the barrier being broken; after all, why was there one in the first place? You heard him snicker from across the room, immediately relaxing you. “Care to share what you’re snickering about over there, funny bone?” You giggled as you stood up, stretching.  
  
Sans looked up to meet your eyes and grinned wit a shrug. “nah, i think i’ll keep this one to myself for a while,” he casually declared as he watched you move around the office and grabbed cleaning rags and a few spray bottles. He mused how the liquids were all distinct colors and hummed. “what ‘cha got there?”, he asked as he stretched his torso out on one of the counters you would need to clean.  
  
You picked up the one containing a translucent blue liquid in it first, “This is a glass cleaner, but I’ve found that it’s also excellent on our touch screens and the marble top. I mean, it’s used as a multi-ah… surface cleaner. So, it doesn’t harm many materials. Heck, you can use it as a carpet cleaner, too” You sprayed some of the window cleaner onto a folded cleaning rag. Sure, the instructions ask that you spray the chemical directly onto the surface for most cases, but you felt like you used the liquid more effectively with less waste. “The orange one is our ‘natural cleaner’. I know it has a bit of citric acid in it, and we use it mostly for cleaning our hard floors. The green is the antibacterial,” you elaborated as you moved around cleaning the glass, touch screens, and marble as you previously indicated, “I like using that on commonly shared areas like counters, bathroom, the kitchenette, and where guests tend to rest their public appendages.”  
  
“public appendages?”, he asked in an amused tone. You stopped cleaning to wiggle your own fingers. “... because not everyone has hands,” he finally realized aloud. He laughed and sat up just enough to rest his chin on the back of his hand, propped up on its elbow. “so, do you just spend all day trying to make sure you’re PC or does it come naturally to you?”  
  
“We are a corporation, Sans,” you reminded him as you resumed cleaning. “I mean, of course the company is going to find the least offensive way to do business with Monsterkind,” you half-laughed only to pause and motion to him with the cleaning rag, “You all are a new set of customers to them. Sure, it’s a very cold and capitalistic way of seeing things, but at least they acknowledge that on a fundamental basis. You’re equal to any human as long as you have the funds to rent.” You sat the one rag aside and began working with the green spray to clean the surfaces. You patted his arm with your free hand and even murmured, “I need to clean beneath you, you giant cat.”  
  
“giant cat?, he inquired as he sat up.  
  
“Yeah, you both willing to lay in the way, probably wanting attention when I need to do other things,” you explained with a chuckled. You made sure the surface was dry and moved on to the next counter. “My boy likes to lay on my back as I play around on my laptop when I lay on my bed. He thinks that he has to be involved with everything,” you said as you leaned over the lower, marble covered counter to look at the floor in the tiny lobby. “Hey, it’s not half bad. Nice,” you announced. You grabbed the rags you were cleaning with and placed all but the orange spray away, carrying it with you as well. “Alright, I’ll need you to move, big guy.” He grinned and began to spread out more. “You cheeky brat!”, you laughed and gently pushed his large skull. “I’ll give you more attention after I ‘mop’ the vending area and entryway, okay?”, you assured him. Oddly enough, it was almost in the same tone you usually used to reason with the aforementioned cat. “Do I have to start bargaining with you with treats, too?”, you asked with your arms crossed.  
  
With a huff and his grin remaining, he slowly moved out of the way. Once you passed him and went into the break room, he did move to keep an eye socket on you. He hummed and watched you do the cleaning in the entryway, the small hall with the three vending machines and the ice machine, and then the little area leading to the stairs and the main hallway which ran behind the office. He leaned against the corner between the last section and the hall. He rubbed the back of his skull, “you make it look easy, actually.”  
  
“That’s because it is,” you laughed. You left him there to place the microfiber mop head and the rags into the bucket in the break room. You smiled softly and closed the door to the break room behind you. “Thanks for waiting.”  
  
He winked and murmured, “it took it out of me. might have ta take a nap after that challenge.” He walked into the office and re-emerged with his leftovers. He seemed a bit embarrassed as he spoke, “could ya do me a favor and take these home with you? can’t stand the thought of wasting food and your money.” He rose a brow as you pulled out a key chain with a key card attached to it. “what’s that?”  
  
“Keys, obviously,” you laughed and used the card key to get back into the break room, “But, we can also store your food in the fridge in here since you don’t have one in your room. I won’t be working tomorrow, so I’d rather do it this way. I’ll leave a note to let the other ladies know that you have food in here.” You gasped as he hugged you with one arm. You relaxed and patted his back. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back Wednesday, okay? I’ll bring you some DVDs to watch.”  
  
He chuckled as he brushed past you and heading in to put up his food, “yeah, that could happen, or you could lemme pay you back with dinner tomorrow?” He blushed lightly as he closed the door on the fridge. “it doesn’t have to be a date, but i hate owing people when i haven’t done a damned thing to --”  
  
“You kept me **company** on a very slow, dreary night, Sans. I mean, you saw that truck that pulled up only to pull back out. That was a local who was just turning around, I guess. That would have been the only noteworthy thing for me tonight without you,” you reminded him and didn't want to mention how it truly would have went without him tonight. “I haven’t laughed like that in a very, very long time. It’s been my pleasure hanging out with you. You owe me nothing,” you assured him. When he looked disappointed you clarified by adding, “My friends and I don’t keep score of who paid for what that often. But, I’d love to take you to my favorite coffee place if you’re not busy. I typically sit there typing up stuff, but we could just hang and play card games.”   
  
He smiled and roughed up your hair a bit. “friend, huh?”, he teased as he stepped into the hallway. He pulled out his phone and handed it over to you. He murmured with a wink, “i’d like it a latte if you’d give me a number to contact you.”  
  
“Wow, one dinner and you think I owe you my digits,” you dryly joked as you gently took the phone and began entering your number. “You’ve bean pretty bold since I told you I think you’re cute. Not to be brewed, but it is pretty cute.”  
He laughed and accepted his phone back, “no name for yourself, (name)?”  
  
“I figured you could decided what you wanted to call me,” you giggled and patted his arm. “Be ready to eat, drink, and be punny around one. That’s about the time I’m up and running around,” he assured him. “Oh, if you’re really _board_ , there’s a group of nerds I play tabletop games with on Tuesday nights. I don’t know if you’d be interested, but…”  
  
He held his hand up and looked at you, “i’d love that.” This time, he was surprised when you hugged him. He chuckled and walked back towards his room, ready to hang out with you outside the workplace.  
  
“See ya, perkalator!”, you called after him before rushing back into the office to finish your paperwork and be ready for the next shift to come on. You were already making plans to actually look presentable for him tomorrow. _it doesn’t have to be a date._ But, it was going to be close to one, right?


	6. Deadman's Run

“When are you going to admit it that you’re excited about tomorrow?” your friend, Derek asked with a laugh through the headset. You were both waiting out in a more secluded part of a map on the game you were playing. Your online friends had asked you both to wait there while they ran the enemy through the natural bottleneck of the terrain. It was a common tactic among long time players in the game.You simply hummed and kept your character hidden in your preferred spot. “You are terrible at conversation when you’re a sniper, you know that?” he groaned as he ran his character around out of boredom. “you talk up a storm on the load screens, you yammer on and on with the selection screens, but once you load up as a sniper? NOTHING. You disappear as soon as you build your little nest up there.”

You snickered and asked softly, “Isn’t that the point of a sniper? Be quite, stay focused?” You hummed as you noted some movement along the horizon as Derek scoffed. “Before you argue,” you warned, interrupting his floundering for an actual argument, and shot the first head you saw above the hill’s crest.

“They finally got them over here?” Derek groaned as he stopped jumping around to entertain himself. You laughed at his complaint and shook her head. He had always been easy to amuse when bored from waiting. “What? It’s not that hard to bait them over here! You just have to bulk up on the other point and they’ll naturally want this one,” he argued. He huffed when no one else came closer.

You shrugged and answered patiently, “You know how it is. It’s either herding cats or they’ve got more than five brain cells shared among their six skulls,” you pointed out. He began rushing ot the hill, only to stop when you fired ahead of him as a warning shot. His robotic character stopped and rotated only its torso. It’s arms rose up in a confused emote. “You do realize that we haven’t heard neither hide nor hair from MajorPayne himself, right?”

He immediately backed his character up, obviously wanting to think things through. “He was supposed’ve got us if the plan didn’t work. Shit,” he hissed. “So, he’s dead?”

“Probably, I mean… this is a Deadman match. Hell, probably the whole damned team,” you corrected. “If Payne is down, Bardo didn’t come in his place…”

“So, they figured it out when they were missing us,” he whined, finishing your statement for you. You heard him shift in his seat before groaning more. “(name), how could you be so calm?”, he asked in an accusatory tone. He grew angry as he continued, “You know this will kill our clan’s win streak!”

“Oh?” you asked as you shot another peeking head above the crest, “I think our sitting here until they get impatient as time drops is working. I mean, it’s a Deadman, after all. Time running out don’t do shit for you if you have people dead on your team. Two certainly doesn’t help, right?” You giggled when you heard Derek gasp and get excited. But, you couldn’t help but let out a belly laugh as you watched Derek run his character around to gather different boosts stored in the immediate vicinity.   
  
“Even harder if you lose more!” he cackled. You hummed in agreement as you kept an eye out. You smirked as you watched the faint outline of his avatar running to the base of the hill, only to drop down and crawl towards the crest. “You serious?” he laughed as he looked over the edge. Before you could ask what he meant, a missile was launched from his briefly visible robot character and the victory screen came up along with the accompanying jingle. “They must’ve been screwed on the ‘Not a Chance’ condition; there was only one panicking guy left,” he laughed from his side. He laughed so hard be nearly began wheezing.

You simply spammed, “gg” in the chat between the two teams five times and leaned back from the screen with a sigh. You didn’t remember leaning so close to keep an eye out.  Once you both landed in the clan room you announced gently, “I gotta cut things short, everyone. I have plans for early in the morning.” You picked up your phone and began setting up the alarm you would need to get up in time to get dressed, feed your cat, and have the car warmed up from the early winter cold on the way to pick up your new friend. “So, Klarn, you have to behave if you want to see that surprise tomorrow.”   
  
“You’re totally talking to me after this, Ultra,” Derek reminded you. “You can’t just tell me that and leave me hangin’.”   
  
“What is Ultra telling you?” TheOnlyBardo asked. They were calling you Ultra from your username, MKUltra. Edgy you thought it was the best name to use on an account that couldn’t be renamed. Bardo himself actually had a pleasant demeanor that fit his slight Southern U.S. drawl.


	7. New Guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, there is cussing in this chapter. And, a reminder, there will be cussing throughout the fiction.

Bardo continued after he didn’t get an immediate answer, “What? Did you actually find someone for her to hang out with other than you?” He snickered at his own joke, knowing better than Derek looking for someone else for you to be around.

 

“Pfft, and lose my wingman?” Derek asked with a hint of cockiness. Older members were laughing at this, knowing your friendship with the dork. “She’s my lucky charm, ya know? The past four out of five girlfriends I got were with her around.”

 

“Who else is going to carry him around if we separate them from the group?” MajorPayne1976 laughed. Derek huffed at the comment, but didn’t really argue with him. “Or, drag your sorry ass for another five levels, huh?”

 

xXxMaximusxXx didn’t typically talk that often, but he was in a talkative mood that night, as evident to his deep, raspy voice calling out above the djinn of the rest of the chat, “Ultra, do you need me to find you a good chiropractor from last round?” When he did speak it usually was something important or something hilarious. Even the previously butthurt Derek couldn’t help but laugh and cough form the quip. 

 

After everyone calmed down with the well-deserved laughter, you answered, “Nah, just babysit him while I’m gone tomorrow. I made friends with a new guy and I wanted to show him some appreciation from his help last night. He still doesn’t know how much is presence actually was a major, like,  **benefit** .” 

 

Derek was trying to ask, stumbling over his words and thoughts. When he got excited, his mouth never could quite keep up with his brain. This gave Maximus simply asked, “He didn’t show up last night since new guy was around?” He was being vague due to lingering new players still in the chat. You noted how most of the younger crowd had dropped off for the night.  _ Thank goodness. _

 

“Right?!” Derek screeched.  _ Ah, his brain and mouth finally figured out how sync back up. _

 

Payne hummed and commented, “New Guy is a big guy, then?”

 

You sighed, knowing this would have come up as soon as the chat had cleared up enough. It was part of the reason why you wanted to turn in early for the night. “Very and he’s a monster,” you finally admitted after accepting the fact they would eventually find out. You didn’t worry about the species thing. Derek was a monster after all. Several members probably were.

 

“Damn,” Bardo muttered before you could hear the sucking of him taking a sip. “Sounds like New Guy would be a great friend to keep around.” He laughed and asked, “When are ya gonna let ‘im know that he protected ya from asshat? tomorrow? ‘cause, he needs be kept around.”

 

“I don’t want him to feel obligated,” you meekly added.

“Klarn, you said she’s adorable,” Payne pointed out.  _ Payne, please no. _

 

Derek cackled for a moment before answering, “She is, but I don’t think using her  _ lack _ of feminine wiles in that manner. She’s too honest, for fuck’s sake.”   
  
“First of all, fuck all of you,” you began sitting up. You didn’t understand why you had them always looking out for you so much. After all, you weren’t the only one who was a female player in the group. So, why would they want to look after you so much.

 

“Case in point,” Payne laughed with a cough punctuating his statement. Newer guys that were still around were laughing in the background. After all, long-time members got the priority on mic.

 

“Doubly fuck you, Payne,” you groaned, leaning back and rubbing your scalp.

 

“Gimme tripley, Miss Ultra,” Bardo purred. “I need to be shamed in chat, too.”

 

“And, reward you for your misbehavior?” you cackled, leading the group into laughter. 

 

“Kinks aside,” Payne stated, trying to get you all to focus back at the subject at hand. You sighed through your nose, you were hoping to distract them enough to leave the subject alone. “I move that we dare Ultra to take New Guy to a thank you dinner.”

 

“I fed him yesterday,” you answered in a snarky tone. You crossed your arms, already feeling defensive.

 

“Well…” Payne started, only to stop to think.

 

“If he helps again, he should know,” Maximus argued and with a soft sigh continued, “I would want to know anyways.” This made you think about it. If someone like Maximus would want to know, being a shy and wise guy… why wouldn’t Sans want to know?

 

You tentatively started, trying to work it out both aloud and by thinking, “He’s… staying at a hotel. He’s  probably not going to be here for much longer, guys.” You swallowed hard and continued, “He and I are going to have lunch together so he can pay me back and that’s it.” 

 

“Klarn,” Bardo hollowly called. It caused you to wince. After all, he rarely sounded so down. Shen Derek answered, he continued. “You need to meet this New Guy and convince him to move there. He’s the closest thing to keeping our Ultra safe from that  jacka--”

 

“ Okay , Big Brothers,” you sighed as  you pushed from the desk. “I am not okay with you guys trying to manipulate this nice guy into dropping into dropping everything to be my bodyguard. That’s not okay. He owes me nothing.

 

“What about becoming a boyfriend?” a newer player, LordDarkness666, suggested. “Then, he’d  **want** to stay. I would for sure.” Most of the others answered him by humming and offering soft statements of agreement.

 

“Stop shipping me with this guy,” you warned them.

 

“You seriously don’t like him?” Derek questioned. You both knew that you wouldn’t be like that. “You hung out with him all night, right?”

 

“Yes, I like him,” you flatly answered. 

 

“Do you think he’s cuuuuuute?” Payne teased. You sputtered as you tried to argue against him.

 

Maximus answered for you, “That’s a yes.”

 

Derek and Bardo both laughed out, “Hell yeah it is.”

 

“Okay! Final fuck yous to you all! I’m out!” you yelled tossing your head set and leaving the chat. You crossed your arms, fuming. Why couldn’t those idiots butt out of your business. You were reminded this wouldn’t have been fairly common knowledge within the group if Derek hadn’t asked for advice while you were gone one day. You had come back a couple of days later with a handful of the guys all immediately bombarding you with support and questions.

 

You sighed when you heard your phone buzz and ring on your desk. You hesitated to answer, after all, you really didn’t want to talk to Derek after that conversation. You would have to calm down after that fiasco . You picked up the phone to go ahead and send him to the voicemail, until you read who was read who it was. “Funny Bones”


	8. The (Prank) Call

You answered the call with a shaky voice, trying to stay calm from the incident that had occured with your online friends. You nearly started to cry when you heard him ask the one question you were hoping he wouldn’t worry about. “did i call at a bad time?”, he gently asked as he obviously was shifting on the creaking hotel bed.  _ You really had to talk to your boss on getting that frame replaced if you could hear the creak of a light skeleton shifting. _

  


“No, no,” you tried to assure him while wiping a stray tear from the corner of your eye, “some gaming friends and I are in a bit of an argument over something… well, silly, honestly.”  _ Why were you both quick to tell him what was going on and to try to  _ **_assure him that there’s nothing really going on_ ** _? _

  


You heard him chuckle for a second before he asked, “what could you ever argue about? who’s the better player?”, he gently teased before adding in a warm, deep tone, “trust me, you shouldn’t let them pull you **down** to their  _ level _ .” You couldn’t help but giggle past the sniffles into your arm. He hummed and commented in the same tone, “you’re better now. i can hear it. glad to know i can still make you laugh without you seeing me being a bonehead.”

  


“Why did you call in the first place?”, you groaned, trying to sound like you didn’t enjoy that last one. You really wanted to just brood and be mad at the jerks. He hem-hawed around instead of answering with partial sentences and noncommittal noises. You understood not wanting to answer difficult questions, of course, but this was why he called you at one in the morning. Well, maybe you should be the one to start. You spoke in a hollow tone as you stared at a poster on your with the lack of having him to face, “They wanted me to tell someone about something difficult to admit…” You began and paused, to collect your thoughts to voice it.

  


He hummed and softly commented, “look, if you’re not wanting to talk about it…” He left it hanging out there as a safety rope for you to make an escape out of admitting anything.  **_But, this is related to him._ **

  


“It’s something that makes me feel weak and helpless. And they believe that this person could help me. But--” you started again only to get choked up for a second. Why were the tears coming in so hard now? You were thankful that he wasn’t there to see you like this.

  


“if someone can help, anyone… you should feel free to ask for that help,” he softly suggested. You could hear him stand up with a grunt and continue, “no one who is worth being around would deny helping another. no excuses, (name),” he nearly growled. You were surprised at the change in his mood and how  “don’t let others ever let you feel unworthy of help. understand?” 

  


“Sans, what’s--”

  


He interrupted with a full growl, causing a racing shiver to make its way up your spine, “do you understand?”  _ Why do I want to bury my face into his chest and cry, right now? _ “... (name)?”, he asked more gently.

  


“I understand,” you finally answered. “But--”

  


“no buts,” he added in a huff. You imagined him crossing his arms, looking down at you. 

  


“Yes buts, Sans, you argued as you adjusted to relax. “I couldn’t ask a random trucker to help, right? They’re busy with their own lives. Hell, it’s not like I could get you to drop everything to help,” you laughed before sighing. Okay, maybe that was a little close for comfort.

  


There was a pause on the other end of the line. “i dunno about  **me** ,” he murmured with some warmth returning within his voice. He sighed and added with a chuckle, “but, i can see your point.” Another pregnant paused before he apparently thought of something and laughed. “i guess this’s a good thing that i gt concerned when i didn’t hear from you; we never made any plans for tomorrow like you said you wanted to.”

  


You paused, grateful he couldn’t see the deep blush on your cheeks. “Just- just be ready around one, like I told you. I have the plans,” you snickered, trying to seem totally in control. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m on my home turf,” you assured him a playful tone.

  


“we should talk about you asking for help,” he demanded. Your heart stopped at the hard hitting statement.  _ Did he really figure it out so easily? _ There was another pause before he softly spoke, “oh… oh! not now, kid. i meant at brunch.”

  


That reminded you of something. “Sans, you’re in a room with a fridge. Why would you need to borrow our fridge in the breakroom?” When he didn’t respond, you immediately asked, “Is it broken because I can call Diane to transfer you to another room…”

  


He immediately answered, “no, no! it’s fine!” 

  


“Then, why would you need to--”

  


Sans groaned and dramatically yawned. “listen, (name). i’d  **love** to stay up and answer questions all night, but i have a hot date tomorrow. so, i’ll see ya at one. later,” he rapidly stated with some stress in his voice. He hung up before you could say anything. 

  


At first were miffed at him hanging up on you, but were quick to remember you also hung up on your friends as well. So, you didn’t really feel like you had room to argue.  A notification sound came through as you got text shortly there after.

  


**Funny bones:** sorry. fridge was running so i panicked. knew i’d have to run to catch it. :D

  


You started to get ready for bed, still giggling at the lame, worn out joke. 


	9. You're Not Worth It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optional Chapter due to triggering subject. This is a tldr; synopsis:
> 
> Reader/MC is messaged, texed, and called by her ex who was and still is abusive. It's a large amount of attempts to contact her. She doesn't read the messages but knows these aren't good due to past history.  
> She is sent into a panic attack with unhealthy and ridiculous messages about how she deserves that pain and isn't worth other's time and effort.  
> While responding to Derek's apology for earlier, MC/Reader sends repeated apologies and states she's not worth his time. Recognizing that his friend is having another panic attack, Derek uses his copy of her apartment key and comes in to comfort her. He assures her that everything will be okay, even with his jealous girlfriend.  
> MC not happy, but she's safe and in good company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this I need to put a warning out first. 
> 
> This is a chapter about someone going through a panic attack and facing the mental scars from a previous abusive relationship that seems to drag on. Considering that this can obviously trigger people who have PTSD or cause great discomfort for those who have any anxiety-related disorders (General Anxiety Disorder, OCD, ect.) and for those who are facing depression. 
> 
> I am placing this as an optional chapter. It was a very difficult chapter to write and I'm sure reading it for the first time will be even more jarring.
> 
> If you or someone you know is going though a situation like this, experiencing emotions or thoughts like this, or has issues with accepting how they are worthy of happiness, please seek help or assist them in finding help. 
> 
> You are beautiful. You are worth people's time and effort. You deserve happiness. You can make it through. Papyrus isn't the only one who believes in you. Please, reach out and let someone help.
> 
> You are not a burden.

The smile was wiped away with the other notifications.  
_**30 Chat Messages from X**_  
_**13 Missed from X**_  
_**27 Text Messages**_

You sighed, disappointed in yourself. You **knew** better than to let yourself enjoy anything. You rubbed your face as you tried to fight off the panic. He was right. You gasped as you felt that thought rip through you. Images of the judgemental people flooded your mind as you slid down onto the floor. You felt like they had all been right. That you were filth, lowly, and not worth anyone’s time and effort. You choked back the second gasp.

_How could you waste Sans’ time like that? He was excited to spend time with you. **How could you let him think that you were worth his time? How could you lie to him like that?** You’re obviously a selfish coward for not warning him._

Your glance shifted back to the notification tray open on your phone. _Did you really think you would be doing better after leaving him? But, honestly, he is the perfect match for scum like you. You closed your eyes, trying to fight off the tears stinging at the corners of your eyes._ You had to fight it. _**You knew better than to listen… right? He’s just nature’s way of punishing you for existing. You deserve how he treated you. You aren’t worth good people like Sans, Derek, and the guys online spending their time on you. You should stop wasting everyone’s time. You’re. Not. Worth. It.**_

You shook and felt your throat close up… no. You felt as if you were feeling a ball of your upcoming sobbing was crawling up. It was ready to overcome any effort you were making to not freak out. You could feel it wanting to start the Pity Party, but you couldn’t let that happen. You shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself. After all, you’re not worth the sympathy of others.

Stop being so weak, (name). Grow the fuck up and accept the fate you deserve. You’re not worth it. You should stop wasting their time. They’re good people. Unlike you. They’re automatically better and shouldn’t be burdened by your pathetic ass.

What have you done to deserve kindness?

Your phone buzzed from a notification. Don’t even look. You don’t deserve it. You could at least admit to them that you don’t deserve it, though. You wiped your first tear for this round off your cheekbone as you grabbed your phone

 **Derek** : Hey. I’m sorry that we went too far.

Before you could apologize for existing, he sent another message.

 **Derek** : We’re really worried since the no contact has expired…. has he tried yet?

 **Twenty-seven times and you couldn’t even fucking answer it like a sensible human being. Nooo. You were too busy lying to Sans about being worthwhile.** You choked and felt two more tears fall. Stop feeling bad for yourself. You’re pathetic. You know that. The tears fell harder as you curled up, typing and sending the essentially same messages over and over.

 **You** : I’m sorry.  
**You** : It’s my fault. He was right. I’m not worth this.  
**You** : I’m sorry.  
**You** : It’s my fault.  
**Derek** : Um… (name)?  
**You** : I’m sorry.  
**You** : I’m not worth it.

You had to stop and adjust the brightness on the phone with shaking hands. “Wha-why is it so fuckin’ _bright_ ,” you barely heard yourself whimper as you squinted and strained at the task. The light coming from it was too bright. Your head was pounding as the thoughts were coming in even more insistent. You resumed typing your version of assuring Derek that it was all on you.

 **You** : I’m so so sorry.  
**You** : It’s my fault.  
**You** : I’m sorry.  
**You** : It’s my fault.  
**Derek** : Oh, shit. No, no, no… (name) He reached you.  
**You** : It’s okay. I deserve it.  
**You** : I’m sorry. Just. Just have a good night.

You tossed your phone away, towards your bed, and covered your face with your arms. The sobbing was hard enough to keep you coughing and shaking. The anxiety-riddled and abusive messages over and over. But, at this point, you were starting to just accept the nagging thoughts as truth.

You reached towards the phone and made the task as quick as possible to let Sans know that you were sorry and that you weren’t worth his time.

 **You** : Sans, I’m sorry. You should forget about me. I’m not worth it. I’m sorry.

You sent it and inhaled sharply, only cough at some building phlegm. You felt isolated and oddly felt like it was suiting. Was that a click?  You paused and listened for anything to indicate that showed you weren't hearing things, holding your stuttered breathing to check.

When, you came to the conclusion that you didn't really know if it was or if you were imagining things in your haze, you decided it was time to lay in bed and hope for death to come swiftly. You weakly sat up to go and crawl into your potential death shroud. But, you were delayed by feeling a pair of arms around you from behind. The deep, rare (but familiar) purr came in loud and clear. “I know, I’m here,” Derek assured you. He held you closer as you tried to pull yourself out of the comfort that **you don’t deserve**  and tried to assure him to stop wasting his time. “I’m spending my time the way I want to. With my best friend, because she needs me,” he chuckled and gently pushed you towards your bathroom. “Wash up a bit, I’ll start water. If you aren’t out in five minutes, I’m scratching at the door again,” he stated.

“What about--” you croaked. Images of his jealous girlfriend flooded your head. She was a small, curvy blonde who loved using her feminine wiles on your homeboy, even (especially) if that meant that you didn’t get to see him that often. He had been tasked with watching over your place so often he still had a key to your place, which happened to help him hide from her on the especially rough days.

“She’ll get over it,” Derek chuckled as he handed you the wash rag from the towel bar. He made eye contact with you through the mirror (at trick he’s learned over previous breakdowns on both ends) and smiled, “Besides, I need to put my fur back on your couch anyways.” He hummed and tousled your hair as he left. **_Why couldn’t the amazing and lovable asshole just leave you alone to cry and rot?_**


End file.
